Pneumatic-despatch-tube selective system.



F. G. WHITTIER.

PNEUMATIG DESPATGH TUBE SBLBGTIVE SYSTEM.

APPLICATION FILED 0032,28, '1912.

Patented Aug. 25, 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

Ft G. WHITTIER. PNEUMATIC DBSPATCH TUBE SELEGTIVB SYSTEM.

APPLICATION FILED 0011,28, 1912.

Patented Aug. 2.5, 191i n MWXQMM af' ATTORNEY.

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lFlR/EEERICEZ Gr. WHITTIEIH., 0F BROOKLINE, MASSACHSETTEB, SSIGNIE. T0 THE LAM- SGN COMPN'Y, 0F BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, il.. CORPORATION 0F NEW YORK..

PNEUTIG-DESTCH-TUBE SELECTVE SYSTEM.

incassa To all whom 'it may concern.' I

Be it known that ll, ldimnnruoir Gt. WHIT- Tinn, of Brookline, in the county of Norfollr and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and'useful llmprovements in Pneumatic-Despatch-'lfube Selective Systems, of which the following is a specification. V rll`his invention relates to apneumatic despatch tube selective system and has for one of its objects the provision of means whereby carriers of diderent classes (as for example those containing matter relating to cash sales and others containing data relating to credit sales) may be conveyed, indiscriminately intermixed, in a common conveying tube for a ygiven distance and thereafter be automatically assorted and apportioned to suitable separate repositories in such manner that the precedence to which the preceding carriers in each class areentitled, is substantially maintained.

ln installations of the type in question ithas been customary heretofore to provide for the delivery of both cash and credit carriers to a .common desk or station where they were sorted by hand, the credit carriers being then, and only then, despatched in a tube leading to the credit deslr..

Credit customers are, in store practice, given precedence over those paying cash; the idea being to permit a party who has a charge account, and who is hence a regular customer, to receive his goods without being lrept waiting. lt is, however, necessary for the salesman to ascertain, and that, of course very expeditiously, the status of the credit of such customer and the credit desk must hence be applied to. lt is also extremely desirable that while the credit customer be given precedence over the cash customer, the proper precedence of one charge customer over another of the same class, and correspondingly of an earlier cash customer over a later cash customer, be maintainedu rllhe attempt to keep the cash carriers in sequential order, as by dropping all carriers successively intol anv extension of the pneumatic tube, or other like acting repository, in. the manner commonly heretofore resorted to, results in holding up the credit carriers, whiclnarc intermiited with the others. lhe means for obviating 'this or a lilte disadvantage forms the subject matter of the present disclosure. 'llhis and other objects Speeication of Letters Patent.

application lea october 2B, 191522.

' ing such tube.

Patented flug. 25, 1914:.

serial in. maui-a of my invention will be hereinafter referred to and the novel elements and combinations of elementswliereby they may be attained will be more particularly set forth in the claims appended hereto.

ln the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof, l have exemplified a preferred form of apparatus adapted to effectuate the end in question, but as l am aware that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of my invention, l desire to be limited only. by the scope of said claims.

Referring to the drawings; Figure l is a side elevation of a portion of a pneumatic tube system equipped with apparatus adapted to effectuate the objects of the hereindescribed invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section taken on line lll-ll of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a fragmentary plan view of a credit carrier repository shown in side elevation in Fig. 1. llif. dis a longitudinal section of a carrier switch adapted for use as an element of my apparatus.

As indicated in Fig. 1, any desired number of transmission tubes may be provided, the outgoing or sending tubes l being provided, inthe present instance, with clapper valves 2, and the incoming or delivering tubes 3 being preferably provided with suitable repositorles t at the lower ends thereof in whichta certain limited :numberk of carriers may accumulate. ln order to insure that the carriers deposited in these receptacles 4t shall be removed therefrom in sequence,l l provide an. aperture 5, in the lower eirtremity of each of said receptacles, of just sufficient size to permit ofthe withdrawal of but one carrierat a time and that vthe lowermost one.

lit a convenient point above the repository Ll in each tube, is a switch or sorting device (l which constitutes a means for removing carriers of one class from the path of travel of the remaining carriers traversfr convenient form of the switch has been shown in Fig. fr.- lt is preferably of a well known type in which an obstructing member 7 is normally interposed in the path of all of the carriers but which member is provided with a releasing latch or trigger adapted to be displaced with respect to the member 'i' upon being struclr by the head of'a carrier adapted to ico los Y lill engage the end of the latch While at the same time impinging upon said obstructing mem# ber. As the particular construction ofithis switch is known and since any operative switch of this type may be used in the system, I shall not further discuss the construction of the same.

In the exemplication of the system herein described, the credit carriers as indicated at 9 in F ig. 2, are each provided with recesses in the respective heads or ends thereof, so that such carriers are unable to trip the latch 8, and in consequence emerge from the switch casing l0 through the aperture l1., The cash carriers on the other hand are each provided with a non-recessed head, as indicated at 12 and such carriers' in conse uence t'rip the latch 8, releasing thereby t e obstructing plate ormember 7, and thereafter tall by gravity into the corresponding repository 4. The credit carriers emerging through the respective apertures ll fall onto a belt conveyor 13, or the like, which delivers them in substantially proper sequence, in so far as each individual tube is concerned, and in approximate sequence, considerin the'group oi tubes as a Whole, to the nua? repository or receptacle for these carriers, which in the present instance is a chute le the lower end of which is closed, as at l5. The lateral Walls ot this chute preferably converge toward the closed extremityl, and the bottom of the chute may be curled or lcurved up to :form the closure. Hence, the carriers1 normally will each tend to arrange themselves laterally across the end of the chute and in proper sequence.

The respective switches and the collecting belt, which is common to all 'o the tubes, provide a plurality ot means which co-act to selectively collect the credit carriers from the entire group of tubes and deliver these segregated carriers consecutively to the closed chute lil at the credit station or desk; While the cash carriers, Whose progress toward their respective repositories et has not been impeded by the selecting devices, are delivered sequentially to the lrespective openings 5 from which they are inally indiscriminately interposed between carriers of the other class in said tube when in transit therethrough, a repository adapted to maintain carriers delivered thereto from tube substantially in sequential order, means co-acting with carriers of one class to remove only said carriers from the path of travel of the renmirb ing carriers so that the latter are delivered in uninterrupted sequence to said repository, and separate means for maintaining the so removed carriers in y,substantially proper sequence With respect to each other.

2. In pneumatic despatch tube apparatus, the combination of tivo classes of carriers with a pneumatic tube for conveying said carriers, carriers of one class being ot ditferent construction from and being normally indiscriminately interposed between carriers of the other class in said tube when in transit therethrough, a repository adapted to .maintain carriers delivered thereto from `said tube substantially in sequential order, means co-acting with carriers of one class from the path of travel of the remaining carriers so that the latter are delivered in uninterrupted sequence to said repository, and separate means, a portion at least of which is normally moving, for maintaining the so removed carriers in substantially proper sequence with respect to each other.

3. In pneumatic despatch tube apparatus,

the combination of tivo distinct classes of carriers with a plurality of pneumatic tubes for conveying said carriers, carriers oi said classes being normally A'indiscriminately intermixed when in course of transit through said tubes, repositories at the delivery ends of said tubes adapted to maintain carriers delivered thereto from the respective tubes, in substantially sequential order, means for removing carriers of one class romthe respective tubes before said last mentioned carriers reach said repositories, so that the carriers ot the remaining class will be disposed in uninterrupted sequence in said repositories, and means, common to substantially all of said` tubes, for displacing the so removed carriers from each of said tubes, laterally with respect to the corresponding tube and substantially in the order received therefrom.

4. ln pneumatic despatch tube apparatus, the combination of tvvo distinct classes ot carriers with a plurality of pneumatic tubes for conveying said carriers, carriers ot said classes being normally indiscriminately intermixed when in course of transit through said tubes, repositories at the delivery ends ot' said tubes adapted to maintain carriers delivered thereto from the respective tubes, in substantially sequential order, means *for removing carriers ot one class from the respective tubes before said last, mentioned carriers reach said repositories, 'so that the carriers of the remaining class Will be disposed in uninterrupted sequence in said repositories and normally moving means, conmonto substantially "all oi said tubes, for

displacing the so removed carriers from each incanta oit said tubes, laterally with respect to the corresponding tube and substantially in the order received therefrom.

5. ln pneumatic despatch tube apparatus, ,the combination ol2 tWo distinct classes ot carriers With a plurality of pneumatic tubes for conveying said carriers, carriers of said classes being normally indiscriminately intermixed when in course ottransit through saidtubes, two stations, one tor carriers ol' one class and the other for carriers ot the" combination of tvvo distinct classes ot can riers with a pneumatic tube tor conveying said carriers, carriers ot said classes being normally indiscriminately intermnred when in course oli' transit through said tube, tvvo stations, one tor carriers nl2 one class and the other torcarriers ot the other class, and a plurality ot' co-acting means lor automatically selectively collecting :troni said tube carriers other than those destined tor one oit said stations and delivering these segregated carriers consecutively at the other ot said stations. l s

7.. ln pneumatic despatch tube apparatus, the combination el two distinct classes ot carriers With a plurality oi' pneumatic tubes tor conveying said carriers, carriers ot said classes being normally indiscriminately intermiired when in course of transit 'through said tubes, repositories at the delivery ends ot said tubes adapted to maintain carriers' delivered thereto :trom the respective tubes, in substantially sequential order, means tor removing carriers ot one class from the respective tubes betere said last mentioned carriers reach said repositories, so that the carriers of the remaining class vvill be dis posed in uninterrupted sequence in said repositories, and means, common to substantially all of said tubes, 'lor displacing the so removed carriers from 'each ot said tubes.

ln testimony vvhereot l have alhned any signature, in the presence ot tvvo Witnesses.

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